Tainted Hearts
by miss.ninja.kimi
Summary: When Sora's heart suddenlly turns to darkness, Riku knows what he has to do. Bringing Kairi along with him, they travel the worlds to find & save him. But what happens when she starts to fall for Riku, even though she is connected to Sora? rikuxkairi
1. Departed Heart

.**t**ainted.**h**earts.

.**s** u m m a r y

the keyblade master's heart has turned to darkness...chaos consumes all the worlds he touches…what is the cause of this tragedy?…who can save us all?…a silver-haired boy on destiny islands knows what he has to do…as the true keyblade master, riku is given the kingdom keyblade once again….bringing kairi along on the journey as well…can they save their best friend…?riari/kaiku aka rikuxkairi

.**p**.a.i.r.i.n.g

.riari.

aka riku.kairi

.**d**.i.s.c.l.a.i.m.e.r

I do not in any shape or form own kingdom hearts, sora, riku or kairi…I sure as heck wish I did though, doesn't everyone?

-x-x-x-- + -x-x-x

.c h a p t e r **o** n e

.**d** _e p a r t e d _**h** _e a r t. _

The sky was painted a pitch black, so dark that it'd make a person with perfect vision feel like they were going blind. A few orbs of light twinkled on the black canvas, giving hope to any who trudged around in this madness called "night". Clear island water hardly moved, as if it knew what was going to happen to night. The water, I daresay, was petrified. Maybe if everyone else knew what Riku, aged sixteen, was going to find on the beaches tonight, they'd be scared too.

Light gray sneakers slowly kicked at the sand as the silver-haired teenager trudged slowly across the sands. Jade eyes blinked, but Riku saw nothing, he was walking in total darkness. He was used to it, since on this very same island, the darkness and the Heartless had engulfed and destroyed his home. However, this still didn't mean he could see through this thick coat of black called night.

The boy wished he had worn more clothing. Clad in his baggy blue jeans, black sleeveless top and yellow & grey vest, also sleeveless, Riku was freezing cold. He showed no signs of weakness by huddling himself together to stay warm, oh no. For everyone on the island's sake, he must stay calm and cool. He was their leader now.

Sora was gone, for about a week and a half now. The spiky-haired brunette had departed when the first Heartless appeared on their islands ever since they'd returned home, beady yellow eyes piercing through Sora's soul with just it's stare. He had promised to be back, reassuring that this was probably just one Heartless, that the worlds weren't in trouble again. No, they couldn't be in trouble. Sora was just doing a quick "check-up" as he called it. He said he'd be back in two weeks, tops.

Riku now shook his head, blinking verdant eyes in sadness. It had been a week and a half, almost breaking the time limit Sora had put on himself. Everyone was worried about their friend. Tidus wouldn't skirmish with him or Wakka anymore, he'd just sit down at the pier, sharpening his sword. Wakka wouldn't play, or smile, or laugh. He'd be up in the tree houses, looking out at sea. Selphie continued her studies at the island's school along with Kairi, but her heart wasn't into the work. Straight A Selphie was now getting C's, sometimes even D's.

But worst off was Kairi. She hardly spoke nowadays, sometimes giving Riku a sad stare, and on good days, cracking a weak smile. Something was terribly wrong with everyone, and Riku felt horrible that all he could do was standby and watch.

Tonight, he couldn't sleep. Dreams of Sora in terrible danger haunted him, not allowing him to rest when his best friend was out in the worlds somewhere, traveling, battling, possibly loosing. Waking up at four 'o clock in the morning, Riku figured a walk along the beach would clear his head.

He hadn't expected it to be so dark, that was for sure. The boy blinked again, trying to make his way through the pitch black surroundings. Maybe he should turn back, this clearly wasn't helping anyway. He could hardly see, for one, and two, this walk just reminded him of Sora even more, and how horrible of a leader he was. Riku was about to turn back towards his bed, when he heard a muffled voice.

At first, he thought he was hearing things, but once he turned around and backtracked a few steps, he could hear the voice clearer.

"R-Riku…" the voice said softly, sounding tired and almost worn. Riku scanned the beach, but it was of no use. He couldn't see a thing. Oh why had he picked the darkest time of the hour to go for a stroll along the beach?

The boy cupped his sturdy hands together in an attempt to project his voice to wherever the mysterious speaker was. "Where are you?" Riku echoed, hoping this would work.

"Riku…" the voice stammered again. The jade-eyed teenager took this time to study where the voice was and what it sounded like. It was a feminine voice that sounded very familiar to his ears. Who could it be? It was when Riku followed the voice and bent down to see who it was did he gasp.

"Kairi?" he asked in an aghast tone

He squinted his eyes, surprised that he could see a vague outline of her. Maybe the sun was coming up? The red-head smiled slightly when he came to his side, but she was in no condition to smile or even be talking, the way she looked.

Again, jade eyes squinted to make out how Kairi looked. Blood slowly spilled out of a wound from her head, which the girl tried to cover up with her slender hands. Her pink dress had been torn, and by the looks of it, by a creature with claws. Blood stained the cuts in her dress, showing off obvious wounds that needed to be taken care of quickly. Riku noted that her shoes were cast astray to the side of her, delicate feet covered in blisters.

Anger boiled inside Riku with an unstoppable force. "Who did this?" he asked, now carefully picking up the fifteen year old carefully in a bridal-style fashion. He'd have to take her back to his house and clean up her wounds, this was clear, but it would help if he knew who her attacker was.

Her sea blue eyes blinked, sadness returning in her them. She closed them carefully, before uttering the word that would send the two into mental chaos.

"Sora…"

-x-x-x-- + -x-x-x

Riku spent the rest of the night catering to Kairi's wounds and making sure she made it through alright. The girl didn't speak again, which put Riku into more anxiety. It couldn't have been Sora, it just couldn't have! Why would Sora attack his love, it hadn't made sense at all…

Right when the trio had returned to Destiny Islands after defeating Xemnas & friends, Sora and Kairi became an official couple. Riku had seen it coming and supported his friend through the whole thing, making sure not to interfere. The two of them bonded closer than ever, hearts becoming more connected than ever before. So then why, after all of this, would he go an attack Kairi? Wasn't it clear that the girl would do anything for him?

It could only mean one thing…Riku thought to himself while cleaning Kairi's last wound on her left shoulder. _Sora's being controlled. _

Riku thought to himself while cleaning Kairi's last wound on her left shoulder. 

Sora would never go to the darkness willingly, after all, he was brimming with light. He was much too childish and goody-two-shoed to even think about joining them himself. And wasn't all the darkness sealed away? Wasn't the Organization put away for good? Who else would take Sora and make him commit such heinous acts? Who would want to?

The girl was now clean, the bleeding had stopped and the wounds had been cleansed. Kairi had fallen asleep now, breathing slightly heavy, sleep obviously troubled. Riku sighed and removed her hand away from her head, inspecting the wound he had already cleaned. It looked like someone had struck her in the head with a huge weapon…a Keyblade…? And the rest of her wounds looked like claws had seeped into her flesh… Did Sora now have claws? Was he a Heartless? Was he controlling Heartless?

Riku could only push these thoughts aside for now. The jade-eyed boy took his light blue covers and gently tucked the girl to sleep. He dared not kiss her on the forehead. She was Sora's, no matter what or how he acted.

Riku settled down on the floor for tonight, seeing as Kairi had taken his bed. He had no covers, no sheets, no pillows. Just another example of how he would always sacrifice everything for her.

In the morning, everything will be settled, he thought to himself, looking up at his pale blue ceiling with worry. _This all just has to be some misunderstanding…_

he thought to himself, looking up at his pale blue ceiling with worry. 

-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-

Kairi awoke first, a long yawn emitting from her lips that sounded like she had never been attacked. With a joyous jump, she sprang out of bed, not seeing Riku on the floor. The girl accidentally stepped on Riku's stomach, making him lurch to the side.

Riku groaned, holding his stomach in pain while slightly twitching. "You've gained some weight, Kairi…" he said quietly with a slight laugh. The boy forced himself to stand up, hands still covered around his abdomen as if taking his hands away would kill him.

The blue-eyed girl turned her head towards him, giggling. "Sorry Riku!" she said sincerely. "I didn't see you down there!" It was now the girl noticed her surroundings. This wasn't her house, was it? No, this was Riku's room. She could tell from the obsessive blue furniture and sheets. She squinted her own blue eyes in confusion. "Hey, this isn't my house…what happened last night?"

The memories of what had happened returned to haunt him in a merciless wave. He shuddered slightly, half hoping that the girl had forgotten she had been so gruesomely attacked, half hoping she would remember so that together they could solve this mystery. In the end, the boy decided to try and jog her memory.

"Last night…" he started in a serious tone. "I found you….on the beaches…you were attacked."

The memories returned to Kairi in the same fashion, Riku could tell. One minute the red-head's eyes showed confusion and the next they were blinking back tears. They streamed slowly down her gentle face, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. The girl shook her head, as if to try and forget what had happened, but the memories were too strong. She rushed into Riku's arms, holding him as if he were going to disappear any moment now off the face of the earth. "Sora…he's…" she started off between sobs, trying to get the words out.

Riku returned her hug, trying to comfort her in any way he could. The truth was, inside he was crying as well. Sora had been missing for far too long, and now, he had came to the islands to attack Kairi. He had done nothing. He had stopped nothing. Riku was oblivious to all. And he hated it. But as much as he wanted information as to what had happened last night, Kairi came first. She always would. "You don't have to tell me now," he said softly.

"No," she choked out, stifling sniffles. "I…I have to tell you. If…we don't find Sora soon…it might be too late for him…"

-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-

They walked out on the beach, kicking sand into the air with their gray and purple shoes. Kairi had told him that she needed to talk, but she was waiting until they arrived at the spot where they she had been attacked. Riku's jade eyes kept to the sandy floor of the beach; he didn't know what to say, or how to comfort her tortured soul.

"It was here," she said softly , stopping abruptly. Riku scanned the area they were in. Granted it had been dark last night, Kairi had stopped at the right spot. Not too close to the pier, far away from the water, this was her attacking spot.

Riku nodded slightly, confirming that she could tell her story now. The girl took a deep breath and began.

"I was walking along," she began, closing her eyes as if that would erase the horrid memory. "I remember I was headed to the papou tree, those fruits always reminded me of Sora…"

Riku nodded again, it made sense she missed him. Their hearts shared an unbreakable bond after all, being apart must've ached Kairi's heart everyday.

The girl continued on. "I hadn't reached the tree yet when I heard this loud rumbling noise. I spun around and behind me, there was Sora! But…he looked so different…"

A stray tear slid down Kairi's check, making Riku want to cry as well. He had to stay strong for her though, what would she think if she knew he was just about as scared as she was?

"Sora looked determined and a little scared. Other than that, he was the same as always, same clothes, eyes…goofy hair-do…" Kairi laughed slightly, remembering the odd way Sora's hair stuck up in spikes. The moment of joy however turned to sadness as she continued her gruesome tale. "There was a man with him, in a cloak. But, it wasn't black, it was white. At first, I-I thought I shouldn't be afraid, because, white is supposed to symbolize good, purity, peace… His coat wasn't the same color as the Organization's, so I…I…"

Kairi shook her head, as if she couldn't believe she hadn't ran for her life. "The man didn't speak, and I couldn't make out any of his facial features, since his cloak was pulled over his head. He just pointed a finger at me, and Sora nodded. Those Heartless creatures arose out of the darkness, and Sora spoke to them, in some Heartless language."

Riku shuddered, now there was a way to communicate with the beings? And Sora could speak their language? What could be the meaning of this? He tried to push thoughts to the side as he waited for Kairi to continue on.

"I couldn't understand what he was saying. But, it couldn't have been anything good, because at the next moment, the Heartless were attacking me. I kicked off my shoes and tried to run, but it was no use. I was surprised, because afterwards, when I collapsed, they didn't steal my heart. Sora had said something to them when I fell, and they retreated."

The tears came now at full force as Kairi turned to the spot where Riku found her last night. "He threw my shoes over to the side of me, and when he saw that I was still breathing…he summoned the Keyblade." Her speech now became stifled with sobs, as Riku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "H-He waved the K-Keyblade above my head…and…he…"

Kairi couldn't speak anymore. Just like this morning, she could only fall into Riku's arms and sob, helpless to do anything else. Sora may be gone, but she needed someone to be there for her, she could trust Riku to do that.

Riku nodded gravely, again returning the hug. "Sora couldn't have done this willingly." he said assuredly. "We're gonna find him and bring him back home, together."

Kairi tried to put a hold on her sobs and nodded, not wanting to release Riku. "I…just don't want to loose him…"

"Me nether," Riku said softly. "Me neither."

.**a**.u.t.h.o.r.s.**n**.o.t.e

alrighty, my first serious kingdom hearts fanfic, I really need reviews. I plan to continue on with this, but only if I know people care about it! I'll answer any questions you have in the reviews if you ask nicely and yes, this story is rikuxkairi, but when they run into sora on their travels they'll be some happy triangle madness. rated t for blood and violence, and I might add a lemon, but it really depends on you guys. **when you're reviewing, tell me if you want a lemon or not**, it'd be riku.kairi though, and I'd have to up the rating to m because I'll be glad to write one and if you guys don't want one it's all good nevertheless. so, review?


	2. Crash Landing

.**d**.i.s.c.l.a.i.m.e.r

For the love of gravy & biscuits…if I owned kingdom hearts, why would I be wasting my time with fanfictions? rikuxkairi would be canon and sora would be the bystanding mr. brightside, not my bishie riku. so yeah.

**-x-x-x-- + -x-x-x**

**.c** h a p t e r **t** w o

.**c** r a s h **l** a n d i n g

It was decided, the two would have to go out and search for Sora. They would have their own little adventure just like their brunette friend (former friend?) had. They'd cruise around in their own Gummi Ship, they'd be the one questioning all the people in the worlds they ended up in. And then, one day soon, they'd retrieve Sora, slap him around a couple of times and bring him back home. No matter what.

But first, Kairi insisted she say good-bye to all the islanders. Riku had merely nodded and told her to meet him at the little shack at the edge of the beach, he'd be gathering supplies and building the ship while she was away. The eager red-head had grinned and skipped off to tell everyone that this time around, _she_ was going on an adventure. She. Kairi. The usual damsel in distress was going to help someone!

Now she and Selphie looked out at the pier, the red & orange sunset dancing in front of them, filling them up with a sense of security. Kairi took a deep breath and swung her feet around after finishing up the tale of how Riku & her were going to be setting off. The girl with the odd hairstyle turned her head to her friend and smiled a huge childish grin, old jump rope dangling from her hand.

"That's so romantic, Kairi!" she beamed. "No matter what, you and Sora always seem to be connected! Now you're going off with Riku to go and look for him!" Selphie let out a deep dramatic sigh and Kairi giggled

"_Everything's_ romantic to you, Selphie," Kairi pointed out, which was true. "And besides… I'm not all too sure if I want to face the….new Sora again….after what happened…"

Selphie refused to play Kairi's emo games. "I'm sure this is all one big understanding! Once you find him, Riku will whack him around with that huge Keyblade of his and you three will be back on the islands in no time! Piece of cake!"

Kairi shook her head, red hair blowing everywhere as she did so. "I hope things can be that easy…" she then caught herself. "Without Riku having to beat him up, of course!"

That made the two giggle harder than ever. It was at that moment Kairi was truly grateful for the friendship she had with Selphie; unlike Sora & Riku, she was so untainted by the darkness, so carefree about everything. Her biggest problem for the last week had been that Sora was missing, and she seemed to cheer right back up as soon as Kairi told her that a "search party" was being brought out for him.

Tidus & Wakka had been the same way. Earlier on, Kairi had quickly explained the situation to the both of them, and happiness overtook their faces faster than the Spanish Flu. Now the two of them were play fighting behind Selphie and Kairi; Wakka tossing his seemingly unlimited supply of balls at the small boy & Tidus knocking them away with a swish of his wooden word. The sword was sharp, sometimes popping the balls with an ear shattering explosion. Tidus had sharpened his sword everyday, waiting for the moment when happiness overtook the island again.

They seemed to think that Kairi & Riku would solve all their problems. They overlooked the fact that Sora had went and knocked Kairi over the head with his Keyblade, or the fact that last night she had been bleeding to death. That's why when Kairi saw the silver-haired teenager now striding carefully over towards her & Selphie, both relief and dread for the future filled her up at once.

The whole island stopped to get a look at the brains behind the rescue mission, Riku. His eyes were only on Kairi, but everyone else was looking at him. Tidus stopped for a brief second in the play fight and got slapped across the face with one of Wakka's balls. Selphie's jump rope stopped in mid-swing, now hanging limp by the oceans.

Now Wakka, everyone's best friend with the Jamaican accent strode in front of Riku. Riku smiled sadly as the boy held out a hand to him, which the silver-haired shook carefully.

"I heard about Sora, mon. It's a real sad thing." he said, choosing his words carefully. "But, Riku, you've been everyone's friend forever. If…you can't bring 'im home, then just bring back ya self. We'll know ya tried, mon."

Riku's careful features frowned, a serious tone overtaking his voice. "Sora's been my friend forever too. I'm not about to let him fall into the darkness. He would've done the same for me. He _did _do the same for me. If I can't save him, I'm worth nothing."

Again, silence overtook the island as Wakka fidgeted awkwardly on his spot, shifting a ball his was holding from right hand to left. "I understand, mon. Bring him home."

Riku nodded. "Don't worry. I will."

He shifted jade eyes over to Kairi, motioning for her to follow him. The red-head nodded and giving a final hug to Selphie and a wave good bye to Tidus & Wakka, set off for the small shack on the island with Riku.

Kairi knew he wasn't good with goodbyes, so she didn't urge him. As she walked on the beach where she had been assaulted by her best friend, she looked back towards her untainted ones, waving another small good bye to them. Would she ever see Selphie, Wakka, & Tidus again? What would happen to them if the Heartless attacked the island…like they did on that fateful night so long ago?

Kairi pushed these thoughts out of her head as she continued dragged her purple shoes across the sand. It wasn't long before Riku and her came across the shack, where a small but capable Gummi Ship was waiting.

It wasn't nothing extravagant. Painted sky blue with a few streaks of random red splotches on it, you could tell it was a real fast job. Kairi slid a slender hand on the ship, now shifting her watery blue eyes at Riku. "How did you build this?" she inquired.

Riku shook his head, as if it were something trivial. "I've been keeping a stash of Gummi Blocks that I've found around the island ever since Sora left… I had a feeling that they'd be useful somehow." He sighed, now turning his muscular body towards the entrance of the ship. "I wish…they wouldn't have needed to be useful."

The red-headed girl put a comforting arm on Riku's shoulder. "I wish it too. More than anything."

**-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-**

The Gummi Ship wasn't all too big, but it wasn't small either. Lined with a sky blue thin carpet job that looked like it had been put together hastily and a turquoise wall paint job, the ship wasn't exactly luxurious. Riku however, wasn't looking for a royal aircraft, he just wanted something that would get the job done.

He watched Kairi's expressions carefully. God knew the poor boy would repaint the whole ship over from a homely blue to a hot pink, just for her. Riku grinned in relief however, when she sat in the seat next to his, smiling like she was going on a vacation to Disney Castle. "My first adventure!" she squealed, then shook her head, red hair flying again. "No, our first adventure."

"I wouldn't call this my first…" Riku mumbled, scanning the controls cautiously. After remembering which ones started the ship, the two started to slowly sail into the air.

Kairi couldn't stay in her seat much longer. She strolled over to the clear glass windows and looked down at the island. She smiled, watching Selphie, Wakka and Tidus all stop their games and rush over to the bottom of the ship to wave goodbye to her. The girl waved back enthusiastically, shouting goodbye to them from outside the closed windows. Riku shook his head in amusement at her words of affection that no one could hear.

"Bye Selphie! See ya Wakka! Later Tidus! I'll tell you all about this adventure when I get back! I promise!" Kairi yelled. No one could hear her except for Riku, but it didn't matter to her. These were her promises that she would fulfill one day.

It wasn't long before she couldn't see the island any longer. Selphie, Wakka and Tidus were no longer waving goodbye to her, and all that could be seen was darkness. Space. It was a wonder why they called it space. There was just so much of it out here!

"Are we there yet, Riku?" Kairi asked, now strolling back to her seat.

Riku shook his head. "Far from it."

**-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-**

_Day 1_

_Riku has been so kind to me, he gave me this small journal to write in. He said that Sora had a little cricket to log his journal in, so why can't we have our own? After he said he didn't mean that I should be a cricket journal keeper, but I get what he meant. Riku says he won't read it if I write personal stuff in it._

_I miss Sora. It still drives me crazy that I don't know why he attacked me that night. I can't think of any other reason except that he could be controlled, but Sora looked so normal that night! I can't wait until we find him, I'm counting the seconds._

_I wish Sora were here. An adventure with the three of us would be better than just two. Whoever said three's a crowd lied._

"Are we there yet, Riku?" Kairi asked sleepily an hour later. Travel through space wasn't exactly exciting, except for fighting the few Heartless ships that popped up. Riku had already did that exciting stuff a while ago, and now all that was left for Kairi to do was ask annoying questions.

"Far from it," Riku responded again, getting used to this. Unlike a snappy parent responding to a kid, Riku would humor Kairi. Eventually she'd get bored with it. Hopefully.

Two seconds later.

"How about now?"

"No, not-" Riku started, but then his green eyes widened. He had accidentally shifted one of the controls while talking to Kairi, and now the ship was steering it's way into a world, a world which Riku couldn't identify just yet.

"What happened?" Kairi asked, started to get out of her seat. Riku shook his head frantically, motioning for her to sit back down. He stood up and grabbed a rather large joystick, shifting it the opposite way the ship was falling at, but it was no use. The silver-haired boy grunted, why did all have to go wrong for him?

"Crash landing for Hollow Bastion set," the Gummi Ship chimed. Riku groaned, he had no recollection of programming a crash landing setting into the ship when he built it. Just peachy.

And of all the places to go, why'd it have to be Hollow Bastion? Memories of Ansem and all the wrongs he had committed still haunted him; returning to the very spot would mean disaster. The boy had really planned on going to Disney Castle, to go see the King and what he made of this. Hollow Bastion? No way in heck.

Apparently there _was_ a heck, because whether Riku liked it or not, the ship was landing. There was nothing he could do.

**-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-**

"I remember this place!"

Riku looked over at Kairi who's blue eyes were shining with remembrance. "This is the place where Sora turned into that cute little Heartless! And where he…"

She sighed in happiness, returning to her memories of how Sora had hugged her that day as soon as she'd saved him from a life of being doomed as a Heartless. Riku couldn't help but smile, letting her walk down Memory Lane for a bit. But after a couple of minutes passed he had to wave a sturdy hand in front of her face to snap her back to life.

"C'mon, we've gotta find him."

Kairi nodded. _Right, remember the mission!_

The marketplace was suspiciously quiet. No Heartless loomed at them, no friendly faces greeted them, and worst of all, no Sora. Riku scowled at himself and cursed the malfunctioning Gummi Ship silently. Next time he'd read the manual before building one.

They both walked the streets carefully, now entering the Borough. Again, no Heartless jumped at them, which made Kairi even jumpier. She remembered what the black little creatures looked like, not all of them were as cute as Sora's when he was one.

And it was then they came, popping out at mass quantities. They were NeoShadows, those kinds with the tall lanky composure and thought they were cool just because they were a little bigger than Shadows. Riku held out his hand as Kairi backed up, waiting for the Way to Dawn to appear to him. It hadn't ever since he had returned to Destiny Islands, but he figured that since this was a state of emergency, it would return.

It didn't.

"Oh God," he murmured, looking at Kairi and then back to the NeoShadows. He could see the memories of her attacking flush to her face all at once as her hands became numb and shaky. She didn't want to loose her heart, she'd been though that ordeal already.

But how could he protect her without a weapon?

They closely in steadily, making a circle around the shaken up girl and the frustrated boy. _Think! _Riku shouted in his head mentally. What would Sora do? What would his best friend do if he was cornered in a hopeless situation with someone to protect and no weapon to protect him?

"_How will you fight without a weapon?"_

"_I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon-my heart!"_

"_Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?"_

"_Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. … I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!"_

Riku gasped, realization spread across his face.

He held out his hand, as if to stop the Heartless with his hands. Even Kairi looked a little surprised by the gesture.

But no, he had no plan to fight the Heartless hand to hand. He took a deep breath and bellowed one single word.

"SORA!"

The world turned black.

**-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-**

"I can't believe it! I really can't! Kairi's here, and so is Riku! Unbelievable!"

"Saves us a good load of flying, it does."

"So, you mean to tell me that he wiped out the Heartless with just one word?"

"It's wonderful! I'm glad no one was hurt."

Riku opened his eyes slowly, finding himself on a fluffy bed equipped with pure white sheets and sweet smelling pillows. He sat up slowly and rubbed his hair, the silver strands were all out of place. "Wha…?"

It was then that he noticed that he was surrounded by faces that seemed to be from a dream, a tale Sora had wove to them in Destiny Islands. He told him and Kairi all about everyone he had met, and these people were part of his adventure. The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. Kairi was standing by him as well, happy to see he was awake.

"Glad to see you're awake, you lazy bum." Kairi said with a laugh.

:Lazy was hardly the word to call Riku at the moment.

A young girl, maybe around Riku's age, with short black hair and black attire held out a slender hand, to shake he assumed. He groggily took it and was bounced up and down by the energetic girl's motion.

"Name's Yuffie," she introduced. "Glad to finally meet you, new Keyblade master!"

Riku blinked rapidly. What? Him? He wielded the Way to Dawn, that was true, but Sora, no matter what was happening to him, wielded the Keyblade now. Sora was the Keyblade master.

An old man with a flowing white long beard, blue robe, hat and spectacles shook his head in amusement. "Give him some breathing room," he said, spreading his hands to motion to everyone to spread out. "Leon, go get the boy a glass of water. Aerith, the cards if you please. Cid, start up that computer and pull up all the files. We need to get this boy up to date!"

Everyone nodded and shuffled around to do what they were ordered. Riku took this moment to scan his surroundings. It looked like he was in a small house. Bookshelves were scattered across the room, a computer in one of the corners and a rather large circular pedestal in the middle of the place to top things off. Where exactly was this place?

He rattled his brain for a description of someone like this old man from Sora's stories, but Kairi got to him first. "You're Merlin!" She exclaimed with a slight bounce.

"That's correct, m'dear," he said with a slight nod of the head. "And it's rather good luck you ran into Hollow Bastion…and that I happened to be nearby. You see Riku, Sora is going through…well, to put it lightly, rough times."

"You know what's going on with him?" Riku asked, now fully alert. "Why did he attack Kairi? Who was the man in the white robe?"

"Clam down lad," Merlin said with a slight shake of the beard. "Everything you need to know will be told, and soon you'll realize how dire this situation really is."

The aged wizard sighed, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. He took his glasses off and shining them with a bit of his blue robe, now putting them back on his face and blinking. He now turned to Riku and an ever eager Kairi.

"This is hardly a game of adventuring fun. This is life or death…for all of us."

.**a**.u.t.h.o.r.s.**n**.o.t.e

It took much longer than I thought it would to get this chapter up, so I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks to an eager reviewer who presented me with many facts, I have decided to NOT include a lemon in this fanfiction, I don't enjoy writing them much anyway. You're probably wondering why it's taking so long to get to the point, but don't fret! As you can guess, everything's going to be explained in the next chapter! Remember, the more reviews, the faster the chapters get up! Thanks for your input!


	3. Stories & Secrets

.**d**.i.s.c.l.a.i.m.e.r

I still don't own Kingdom Hearts … but I now own a wii and a copy of loz: twilight princess … which has been distracting me…

**-x-x-x-- + -x-x-x**

**.c** h a p t e r **t** w o

.**s** e c r e t s & **s** t o r i e s.

Jade eyes blinked in astonishment as Merlin's words. Life or death, huh? Well, it wasn't like he'd been through that ordeal before. This wasn't anything new. Hadn't he fought the darkness and learned how to contain it's powers, using it for good? Hadn't he captured and defeated Roxas, just to help his best friend Sora? Hadn't he risked everything, went to hell and back, just to save Kairi? He could handle whatever news Merlin was going to throw at him, that was what he told himself. And so, taking a deep breath, Riku voiced, "I'm ready to hear it."

He closed his eyes for a brief second, thinking of the journey he would start. The safety of Sora … the wellbeing of Kairi … It was all in his hands now. Everything. His worlds, his home, his friends … Maybe he'd finally get to see how Sora handled it. "I know this is not just any adventure. I'm ready to hear what's going on. I want to help. I _need_ to help."

The old man smiled, a grin plastered upon his wrinkled face. He seemed to be mixed of feelings, for a wave of happiness seemed to wash over him, but right after that, a sigh emitted from his lips. Fingers flew to his temples to rub them, as if lost in thoughts. He sat there, rubbing his temples for a moment or two, until he finally spoke. "That's good news, the best I've heard in a while," he said with a slight smile. "So I guess, there's nothing left to do but tell the story …"

Riku nodded apprehensively, readying himself. How would Sora act when he was about to hear a story that would possibly change his life forever? How would Sora prepare himself? Sheesh, it was so funny how the world worked. One second, your best friend was the Keyblade Master and they were living in peace on Destiny Islands. The next you were supposedly the Keyblade Master, trying to fill Sora's huge yellow clown shoes.

"We all witnessed them. The Heartless. Even though the Thirteenth Order had been defeated, they were slowly popping back up into the worlds. We all grew concerned and prayed that perhaps, they were just a couple of them, they would go away soon, right? Well, we were wrong … oh so utterly wrong.

"I expect that the Heartless made their way to Destiny Islands as well, for soon Sora made his way to Hollow Bastion. Like you, he realized that the Keyblade would not come to him when he was in danger. And also like you, he thought to call out a name in desperateness. He screeched out the name, Kairi."

Merlin sighed and removed his glasses from his face once again, rubbing them so that they would shine anew. "The name did nothing to save him. So he called out your name, Riku. That did nothing as well. He called out a list of names, and that was what alerted out attention. Hearing his voice, we brought him to my place, in the same exact bed you're in now. There, when Sora came to, he asked us tons of questions. Why the Keyblade wouldn't come to him … why his friends weren't his power. We couldn't tell him anything. We knew nothing at the time. What we did tell him however, was that he was welcome to stay here for as long as he wished and that'd we'd tend to his needs as he wished."

When Merlin paused, Kairi, who was standing nearby, was looking worried, as usual. Her bit her tongue, trying not to pipe up and wreck everything, but couldn't help but scream out, "Why … why didn't saying our names work? It … it worked for Riku!"

The wizard shook his head sadly. "Don't fret, I'm getting to that," was what he stated He then gathered up his thoughts and returned to his life-changing tale. "In the night that very same day we had found Sora, a man knocked on our door abruptly. I remember clearly it was Yuffie who bounded over to our door, opening it without hesitation. And when she did, there stood a man in a white robe. He flung off his hood, and we found that his complexion was about as pale as his robe color. His hair was long, down to his shoulders, and was also a milky white. Even his eyes … were white."

Just the very existence of this man gave Riku the creeps. A pale man in pales clothes … with pale skin and eyes, and even pale hair! His eyes urged for Merlin to go forward, and Merlin did just so. "He reached out a hand and an immense gust of wind was brought into my house. Toppled over everything that wasn't bolted down. Everyone rushed over to attack , but an invisible forcefield seemed to be blocking everything. He then swished his hand out over to where Sora lay on the bed and levitated him towards him. It was Leon and Yuffie who both grabbed a hold of the boy, demanding the stranger state his business. Of course, Leon shouted for the man to leave Sora the hell alone …"

"The little…" Riku mused underneath his breath. The thought of someone taking advantage of Sora when he was down and out for the count was horrifying. Merlin saw his anger but did not comment. He still had a story to tell, and he was going to do it.

"He seized trying to bring Sora over to him and stopped the wind from blowing. And that is when he said the words, 'I am Death itself. Hand over this useless boy.' Yuffie vibrantly went to explain that Sora was the Keyblade Master. Of course, that was when Sora woke up…. And that's when it got messy…"

"_You are not the Keyblade master."_

_Silence overtook the room as the pale man that referred to himself as Death made this statement. It was only then did Sora speak, softly at first, but then with rage. "What … what do you mean?" asked the brunette boy, looking up at the sickly stranger with great disdain. "What do you mean I'm not the Keyblade master? And … and what do you know about Keyblades anyway? What do you know about me?"_

_Leon nodded slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. This whole affair was so troublesome … silly Yuffie had to go and open the door for this fool. His gaze traveled over to the young ninja slightly who seemed just as infuriated as he. No one spoke, though. They were waiting on Death._

_The pale man did not speak again, only stayed silent. Until at last, at long last, he said: "The Blade did not come to you." And when Sora did not speak, he did so again. "Your friends names could not save you."_

_Yuffie butted in again, clearly just wanting his presence out of the house. "So what? None of that matters and none of that is your business!" She withdrew her rather large shuriken, pointing a tip at the stranger in warning. "The quicker you leave the less damage you'll take!"_

_She sprinted, but Leon lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her backwards. "Let him speak," he grunted, making Yuffie sport an irritated look. She pouted, resuming her stance. _

"_It all begins with birth by sleep." he stated, making it remain even more silent than before, which is possible. "I am not a foe, Sora. But you can make me one. I am here to help you reclaim yourself." _

"_What do you mean?" Sora burst out, eyes dancing with both confusion and anger. "It ... Begins with birth by sleep? But … what are you …"_

_It was then Death held out a hand, and a ball of light formed from it, dancing about in his hand. "I am of light, Sora. There is nothing to fear .. I can help you save the worlds yet again. It is … fated."_

_Death strolled over to Sora slowly and carefully. Everyone in the room tensed - Leon gripping his gunblade and restraining Yuffie with nothing put a pure glance, Aerith's teeth chattering, Tifa's hands clenched, ready for battle - as they waited to see what would happen. Death, finally, stood right in front of Sora, his looming presence intimidating. The ball of light disappeared from his hand, and he waited for Sora to grab it. "Trust me."_

_How many times had Sora seen someone hold out their hand to him? In that dream, where he was falling - Riku had held out his hand to him as the waves seemed about ready to kill him. And he had rushed out to save his friend, not caring that the waves had rolled over him …_

_Was this like that time? Riku, even though he had changed, back then … he could still trust him. So, was this a man he could trust. An invisible force inside Sora's mind told him to take the man's hand, and another voice screamed at him not to do so. But nevertheless, his hand was gripped, and the two vanished in a portal of … darkness. _

"_No!" came from Yuffie, eyes watching as the darkness swallowed up Sora. "No, no, this isn't good! This isn't the end!"_

"_This is only the beginning …" Leon mused, shaking his head in disgrace. "Only but the beginning."_

Riku immediately stood up and out of bed after listening to Merlin's tale. His head pounded, as he still didn't know why the man wanted Sora, exactly, and why Sora had the need to attack Kairi. Why, why, why? And so he voiced this. "Why?"

Merlin shook his head, also getting up off the plain white sheets. "I am not sure. That is all we know that happened. However, afterwards, Cid found out some information that might be able to help you on your quest. Why we know that you are now the Keyblade master."

It was then Leon strolled back into the room with the glass of water Merlin had instructed him to fetch earlier on. Handing it to the sixteen year old, Riku accepted it gratefully, even though his need to quench his thirst was the least of his problems. Merlin nodded towards Leon, and with just that gesture, he withdrew the gunblade. Riku gave him a confused look.

"We are going to help you summon both the Kingdom Key and the Way to Dawn back in your control," Merlin said with a nod, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose with a bony finger. "Don't worry, Leon won't hurt you terribly … " Merlin ignored Riku's look of utter shock as he motioned for Leon to attack. "Now, m'boy, start."

A shot rang out, hitting Riku straight plain in the left shoulder. Cursing under his breath, one arm clutched the wounded one as his mind raced of what to do. Merlin hadn't told him anything on how to bring the blade back, did he expect him to know off hand? Apparently he wasn't thinking fast enough, for another shot rang out, getting Riku in the leg. "Think sharp!"

_Sharp, huh? I'll show you sharp… _Riku mused. He wondered if screaming Sora's name would work … Or maybe Kairi's. Hmm, he wondered. Maybe the both of them? Thinking about the whole situation was tough, especially with Kairi cheering off to the side, voice ringing in his ears. He didn't know whether to smile or ask her kindly to stop.

Rolling out of the way of another shot (which was hard to do in Merlin's house) Riku pondered all possible thing he could try. What word had the most power? What friend? What to say? What to _do? _

"SORA! KAIRI!"

The world turned black.

**-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-**

"Put that down, Yuffie! That's a serious weapon right there, people like you and me aren't supposed to be messing with them!"

"Aw, c'mon! Who knows when he'll wake up anyway? Riku's a pretty cool guy, he won't mind…. Fine, I'll put it back in his hand …"

"Merlin, I've got the ca- Oh! Is that…?"

"Well, at first I thought Leon'd have to shoot 'em to death for him to finally summon it, but there it is…"

Riku came to, yet again, surrounded by the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. This time, however, they left him laying on the wooden floor of Merlin's home, not bothering to lift him up again. Heh, at least there were no Heartless here…

"Again?" he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his forehead, brushing aside silver strands. It was then that he noticed that in his very hand, he held the Way to Dawn. His Keyblade. He smiled slightly, purely relieved that he had done something right for the first time since he set out. He looks in his other hand, and in it is a ball of gleaming light. The ball of light forms into a shape of the blade … the Kingdom Key. And there, in his hands, is the very blade Sora wielded. Was Riku now …. The Keyblade Master?

Yuffie bounced up and down, grinning to herself. "Congrats!" he cheered, clearly happy that things were looking good for the better. Leon also nodded, his arms crossed. "We know you'll be able to handle things now."

Riku squinted at the blade. No, this couldn't be right. This Keyblade was Sora's … not his. Never his. Riku's grip on the Kingdom Key loosened, his eyes far away. It then dropped, to the floor with a slight crash. Everyone looked taken aback, and no one said anything.

It was then that Kairi walked over and bent down elegantly, picking up the blade in fragile hands. "Riku …" she drifted off. "Please. I know this is hard. But something's happening to Sora … you have to take his place, just for now."

The silver haired teen shook his head, refusing to accept it. However, a blast of light surged from the blade and dematerialized from Kairi's hand, rematerializing into Riku's. He looked astonished, aghast. Could it be, that he was now … truly ….

… The Keyblade Master?

"Riku…" Aerith said softly, piercing the silence. "When we first reunited with Sora, we gave him a card welcoming him into the committee. And now … we'd like to do the same with you and Kairi." She held out to Kairi and Riku a purple card with their name written on them in gold letterings. They both took them tentatively, Kairi looking eager and carefree, grinning upon the card with pride, Riku with a small smile, realizing how much pressure was being put on him. This was it huh? This card was the very proof that stated how people were relying on him. Especially Sora and Kairi …

Riku pocketed the card and smiled at Aerith. "Thanks," he said softly. "Thanks, to everyone. It means a lot." He sighed deeply. Hardly any of his problems were solved, and he still didn't know why Sora had the need to attack Kairi. Oh, and speaking of here, that brought up another question. "Merlin," Riku voiced. "What of Kairi's Keyblade?"

Merlin shook his head. "Kairi's Keyblade is a completely different matter. Or … is it?" The wizard seemed to ponder for a bit before answering the silver haired teen. "Maybe she will obtain her Keyblade in the same way … Leon, would you care to-"

"No!" Kairi shouted, shivering at the thought of Leon shooting her. She shook her head frantically, red locks flying as she did so. "N-no, there has to be some other way … right?"

The wizard smiled genuinely. "Maybe the Keyblade will come to you in a time of dire need … but I doubt you'll run into any trouble with Riku guarding you."

A small grin formed on Riku's face as he gripped both his Keyblade. He waved them away with a shake of the wrist, since there was no danger nearby. Hopefully, now they would come to him in a situation when he needed it without him having to screaming out his friends names and faint. He looked to Kairi, who was smiling like a little ray of sunshine, and to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, who all worn expression of approval.

"So will you be off? Or would you like to stay the day with us? You're welcome here for as long as you wish!" Merlin offered, beaming at the two. Riku had that look upon his face as if he was about to leave, but Kairi tugged on his arm.

She whispered to her friend, "C'mon, what would it hurt? Today's been a long day, after all!" Riku sighed. Damnit, here he was again, always going along to whatever Kairi suggested, just to please her. After a moment of thought, he decided, "Alright, we'll stay for the night."

With a cheer, Yuffie went on to explain that Riku could take the bed with white sheets, which he seemed familiar with. Kairi would be sharing a room downstairs with the female ninja. ("Merlin's house has a downstairs?" "Yeah, didn't you know? It's a secret! A _magical_ secret!")

Pulling the covers over his head, Riku found that it wasn't the same as his old bed. Possibly nothing ever would be. He was miles away from home and everything familiar … But it wasn't like this was his first time doing something like this … This was just another adventure … But this time, he had something familiar tagging along with him.

Kairi.

-**-x-x- + -x-x-x-**

_Day 1 … and a half, I guess_

_We've arrived at Merlin's place! I guess it was all an accident, since Riku didn't seem too happy about our landing. Here. There's something about this town that makes him so edgy … But I guess he's always like that. _

_Right after our landing, a bunch of Heartless attacked us. I thought I was a goner for sure, because at first, Riku's Keyblade didn't come to him. I was really scared, and I felt so helpless, knowing I couldn't be of any use. Then Riku held out his hand, and screamed Sora's name … A burst of light came from him, killing all of the Heartless, but he dropped to the ground in a faint._

_I was so scared, I didn't know what to do. But then all of a sudden, these people came running up to us. I recognized them all from the stories Sora told u, so I was able to tell them about Riku and how he was hurt. Leon (he's a pretty strong guy!0 lifted Riku up and carried him all the way over to Merlin's house._

_After that, Merlin told us how Sora came into contact with that creepy guy in the white cloak. I still don't get why he attack me though … But I know tagging along with Riku, we'll go to all sorts of worlds to figure it out. Riku's got both Keyblades now … Both the Way to Dawn AND the Kingdom Key. Seeing it makes me think of Sora …_

_But I can't help but remember all the things Riku's done for me. He helped me get my heart back … He saved me from Saix in the World That Never Was so long ago … He's always been my best friend, always there for me …_

_I can feel the connection between Sora and me slowly fading. I'm scared. I want Riku to help me fix it, but I don't know if he can. I hope Sora was forced to attack me or something, and didn't do it out of free will … I don't know if my heart can take it._

_I hear Yuffie stirring, I better stop writing and turn off the desk lamp. _

_-Kairi_

.**a**.u.t.h.o.r.s.**n**.o.t.e

Yes, I know it took me ages to get this up, because I'm so horrible with updating. -sob- Also because I'm caught up with roleplaying and making KH AMVS … But no more excuses! Hope you enjoyed! Oh, and don't worry, Kairi does get her Keyblade back! And the fluffage will commence in later chapter, and a certain spiky haired brunette will come into play soon …


End file.
